Page 29

“ I updated the Council. They’re sending a cleaner.” Max’s voice is level, efficient. Alpha-mode activated.

I hear him. I nod.

But I can’t speak.

Not yet.

Because my hands are full.

Full of her.

Arliss is in my arms, soft and warm and trembling slightly, but alive.

And I’m not letting go.

She curls into me like she belongs there.

Like she knows there’s nowhere else I’ll ever let her be. Her fingers clutch at my skin, and her breath tickles against the hollow of my throat.

I feel the shape of her body, every curve, every heartbeat, every shiver.

She feels perfect against me. Like she was made just for me, because she was.

And fuck, I nearly lost her.

That knowledge is a blade in my chest.

Cold. Deep. Still twisting.

So I hold her tighter and walk us both to the truck, ignoring the blood on my bare feet, the way my knees still want to buckle from adrenaline and sheer relief.

Zeke opens the door wordlessly, then circles to the driver’s side without a single smart-ass remark. That alone tells me everything about how bad this night really was.

The ride is silent.

The air in the cab is heavy with ash and blood and exhaustion. But there’s also this other thing.

This quiet, sacred kind of peace. Like the universe knows I’ve got my heart in my arms, and it’s giving us a second to breathe.

I keep my hand on Arliss’s thigh the whole ride back, stroking lazy, grounding circles with my thumb. Her head rests against my chest, and I can feel her finally start to relax—like she trusts me to carry this weight now.

And gods, I will.

Tonight I learned what real fear is.

It’s not pain.

It’s not war.

It’s not death.

It’s the emptiness of a future without her in it.

It’s the moment I saw her tied to that altar—my Arliss—bloodied and gagged like she was nothing more than a vessel to be used and discarded.

That was fear.

That was hell.

And I never want to feel it again.

But I would.

A thousand times. A million.

If it means I get to keep her.

If it means she stays safe.

If it means she stays mine.

The tires crunch the gravel outside our cabin, and Zeke parks without a word. He gives me a look as I climb out, one that says I got you, man , and I nod my thanks. He doesn’t follow us inside.

Good.

Because now it’s just us.

Inside, I settle her gently on the couch. She winces a little, and I growl low at the thought of her still being in pain, but she grabs my hand and pulls me down beside her.

“Kian,” she whispers.

“ I ’m here.” I kiss her knuckles, one by one. “I’ll always be here.”

The silence stretches between us, not awkward, just full .

Heavy with everything unspoken. Everything we haven’t said.

Until now.

I look into her eyes, and I know.

It’s time.

Time for more than promises whispered in the dark.

Time for truth. For choices. For the life we could have. If she still wants it.

Please still want it.

I take her hand and rest it over my heart. It’s beating like a goddamn war drum beneath her palm.

“Arliss,” I say, voice low, rough, honest, “tonight nearly destroyed me. But it also made something crystal clear.”

She watches me, wide-eyed, mouth slightly parted.

“I can’t hide anymore. Not about the bond. Not about the future. Not about you.”

She leans closer.

“I want it all,” I say again, my voice hoarse, each word scraped from somewhere deep inside me. “With you. A life. A home. A family, if you want that someday. I want you here. With me. In every way.”

My throat tightens, heart stuttering beneath the weight of my own confession.

“But my world?” I shake my head, swallowing hard. “It’s not safe, Arliss. It’s rough. It’s dangerous. And tonight, fuck, tonight showed you exactly how ugly it can get. You were almost. God, you could’ve been?—”

I stop. The words won’t come. They’re too dark.

Too fucking real.

A breath shudders out of me like the ground beneath my feet’s been knocked loose.

Her fingers press to my lips before I can fall too far into the spiral.

“Hush.”

Her voice is soft but steady. “You saved me, Kian. I know what life with you means.”

But she doesn’t. Not really.

She thinks this is over. That the danger’s passed.

She doesn’t know the constant vigilance, the unseen politics, the Shifter Council’s scrutiny, or the weight that comes with loving a Bull who’s still half-wild and bracing himself for a fate that could steal his mind.

She deserves better.

She deserves more.

“You say that,” I rasp, curling my hand around hers.

“But I need you to really think. I want you. I want this. I want us so bad I can taste it. But this isn’t some fairytale.

It’s blood and bone and risk. You have to choose it.

Not just say the words. You have to want it.

Even when it’s messy. Even when I’m a fuckin’ monster fighting to stay human. ”

She opens her mouth, but I stop her with a look.

“Because whether it’s magic or fate or fucked up biology. None of that matters to me. You’re mine only if you want to be. If you pick me, Arliss. If you look me in the eye and say yes, even knowing I’ll never be perfect or tame. But I’ll always, always be yours.”

Her eyes well up instantly, but she doesn’t blink.

She stares at me like I’m the only thing in the world worth looking at, and it damn near breaks me.

“What about you?” she whispers, voice trembling with unshed emotion. “Do you pick me, Kian? Not just because of fate. Not just because of the bond. But because of me. As I am.”

“I love you.”

The words come out raw, like a vow. “I’m yours, Arliss. And if you’ll have me, if you choose to stay, I will spend the rest of my life showing you that you were right to take the risk.”

Her bottom lip wobbles and she opens her mouth again—this time her voice is quieter.

“What about the Rut?”

My stomach twists.

The question slices through the air between us like a blade.

Sharp. Heavy. Deserved.

I take her face in both hands, holding her still, holding her close, so she sees nothing but me.

“After tonight?” I whisper. “After the fire and the blood and that moment, I saw you tied up and thought I might be too late?”

My breath hitches. My Bull rumbles deep, mournful and protective.

“There is nothing. Nothing on this fucking Earth that could ever make me break this one simple truth. You own me .”

Her eyes widen.

“I belong to you, Arliss,” I murmur, forehead touching hers. “Heart. Body. Soul. You say the word, and I’ll fight the Rut with everything I am. I’ll chain myself in the woods. I’ll burn my own fucking skin if I have to. Because I’d die before I ever hurt you.”

She gasps softly, tears spilling over now, a trembling hand reaching to cup my jaw.

Her thumb sweeps over my cheekbone as if trying to memorize the weight of my promise.

And then?

The world stills.

The air between us holds like a breath suspended in time. Like fate itself is leaning in, waiting for her answer.

Waiting to see if two broken, brave hearts will choose one another— not because they have to, but because they want to.

Waiting.

Waiting for her.

For us.